Singapore and home

Everything about Singapore seems to work really well. From the superefficient airport, to the transport system and the ease of getting about. This is a city we would be more than happy to visit again.

We met our friend Daren, who kindly showed us around on the first day. The Garden by the Bay, a locals eating place, Maxwell’s food market, and dancing in the evening. Even if it was £14 a pint!!!!!

On the second day we had a lovely time at the Botanical Gardens, had a city bus tour and explored some local markets.

All too quickly it’s time to go home and ...................... to start to plan our next trip. The Quincy Hotel, great location, really excellent service, breakfast, late check out, city tour, cocktails, afternoon snack, evening buffet, free laundry, all included in the price. 

Thanks for reading, I hope it’s not been too tedious. 

Hello Sydney

Well we’re not the first to visit Sydney are we, so dear reader you’ve probably seen it all before. Safe to say as cities go we loved it. It's the first city we’ve been to that’s almost completely built around water.

Our B&B in Newtown, which is a bit like Camden, was great and the hosts Bron and Julian could not have done more to help us. From picking us up and dropping us off, providing us with Opal cards (Oyster equivalent) and feeding us the most delicious breakfasts. The Tara Guest House if you’re interested yourself. The art around the place was lovely and in our room included quite a lot of bare bottoms. This piece was in the hall! Some of the best restaurants we’ve ever been to are in Newtown too.

We visited the botanical gardens, and saw some amazing trees, took the boat to Manly, had lunch and swam with our friends Amanda and James who just happened to be in Sydney at the same time.

We took the ferry to Watsons Bay, then the bus to Bondi Beach and then walked to Congee along the coast.

The beer and pies in the Admiral Nelson were excellent and the evening stroll over the bridge gave us some great views over Sydney harbour.

Sydney is one of those places you’ve just got to visit, at least once in your life. I'm not that impressed by buildings much but the Opera House has got to be the incredible building I've ever seen. Better even with the naked eye,  than you can ever capture with a photo.

Next stop Singapore. 

1500 miles down to Sydney

So Lennox Head is another of those places we would have loved to stay longer. Relaxed, great beaches and great food.

Heading south again but inland for a night near Bellingen, a sort of hippy place. Occasional whiff of pot as you walk around, quirky shops and quite a nice spot for a stopover. Beautiful sunset. Nice touch in the local independent grocer with the fruit. And what’s with the automated dog wash?

The next day we headed for Trial Bay, near South West Rocks. WOW! What a beach, clear aquamarine water and gentle waves. We were joined by 13 kangaroos who seem to live about the campsite.

Along the way we saw the giant prawn in Ballina and the big banana outside Coffs Harbour.

Next up some wine tasting in the Hunter Valley, courtesy of Tex our guide for the day. We stayed in Cessnock, campsite nice but empty on the Thursday we arrived. By the time we got back on Friday it was full of Sydney folk up for the weekend. Delicious wines from small boutique vineyards that only sell through their cellar doors. Of the 150 vineyards in the area 90 do free or nearly free tastings………..! And there was cheese and there was chocolate too.

Two hour trip to Sydney, to return our van and head to the B&B